Long Eagerness Poems

Juvenilia: Early Poems V

Poetry
by Michael R. Burch

Poetry, I found you
where at last they chained and bound you;
with devices all around you
to torture and confound you,
I found you—shivering, bare.

They had shorn your raven hair
and taken both...

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The Making of a Poet
by Michael R. Burch

While I don’t consider “Poetry” to be my best poem—I wrote the first version in my teens—it’s a poem that holds special meaning for me; I call it...

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The State of the Art (I)
by Michael R. Burch

Has rhyme lost all its reason
and rhythm, renascence?
Are sonnets out of season
and poems but poor pretense?

Are poets lacking fire,
their words too trite and forced?
What happened to desire?
Has...

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"Hey, you philosophysing Hindu. Give me a break, Buddy. I was just pulling your leg. [...] I want the rest of the story. Really, I mean it.” Theson said nothing. [...] “I can see you’re...

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Blossoming 
Effulgent sun proffers love 
Clambering… 
My brain makes me wonder if you remember the times shared
Back to the blessed times, I recall that you would listened, be worried about me, and, at the time,...

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PRELUDE.
When the sky and world are dark no sounds are heard in the woods. Perhaps the scrabbling of night creatures on the hunt fo food. But no sound of woodpeckers ra ta tatting, bird song...

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Centuries ago

In ancient Hermopolis

A debate roared loud

Between a proud Christian priest

And a strange shepherd

Who was a Manichaean

Wearing ragged clothes

And who was looking for sheep

“Flames will consume you”

The priest roared at the shepherd

Because their debate

Was going...

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This brisk, sunny March morning, I return from delivering my son to his adult daycare van.  

Upon opening The Norwich Times, I delight to read the new Center for Safe Futures "will be taking...

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And on the seventh day, God descended from the brilliant abyss called heaven. He wanted to rest, but He had to view what He had created so He could memorize His good works. 
 ...

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Considering how many times I set out to pen a small,
Master piece of art, a gem that might underwrite,
The utter liability of being just that stamp,
Or tramp, or whatever other denomination one might reliably take...

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Fishing Boats On The Beach at Les Saintes - Marie’s-de-la-Mer

                  Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1888), Arles, June...

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POTD 30th August 2018 

The gently swaying branches of the old oak should elicit calmness
And yet a sense of foreboding permeates the midnight air
Wild imaginings?  Or did shadows flit across the leaf strewn path?
No...

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Basil the Bogomil and his good friends were preaching the truth in all its light, about Jesus Christ’s mercy in the world’s pitch darkness. Though they harmed no man or creature, asking for no riches,...

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Shame on you for trying to kill my thrill
Shut the hell up and be my friend for real
Stop acting so arrogant and such a pill
You know I need your shoulder to lean on…
It’s really no...

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Whar art thou dame of my dream?

Eagerness readily overtakes me prior 
to succumbing to nightly slumber. 

Tis boot a blink when eyelids become relaxed 
adrift abed invariably occurs counting backwards  
from one hundred –...

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Open up your mind and your heart for a change
Please don’t hesitate, 
For, you aren’t pushing the limits
If I were yours, 
I wouldn’t be drawing near to depression
Heads up! Don’t slouch down
Lift your head from...

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I remember…

Waking up with an eagerness
That can only be felt, never described
By mere nouns, verbs or adjectives –
This was a feeling more precious than gold,
More electrifying than that string of lights
Placed so perfectly on tender...

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Though virtual reality wasn't new, I hadn't ever once tried it,
Yet the concept fascinated me, like beauty's mysterious secret.

It seemed that the new experience, would be one I would enjoy,
So in eagerness I scheduled a...

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This horrid. inner remorse
Is getting way out of course
I want to keep courage and cheer in my heart…
I am His sun-shining, mild child, even from the start
I hope my daily prayers to the Lord are...

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Hath fed the common purpose That draws the very heart of man, to the sacrificial hero!

Dangerous and promising are these dreams which  seem to come from the heart’s deep recesses, as have cast a...

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NOTE: The Natchez Trace is the Nashville bar where I met my future wife Beth. We invented a game called "twister pool" which involved billiards, drinking and a fair bit of physical contortion ...


At the...

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Of all of the beautiful seasons, I like summertime the best.
As with blooms, greenery, and bird talk, it is richly blest.

When comes dazzlingly warm weather, life moves out of doors,
For the gardens we vacated in...

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Picture portraits of us together in the placid plantation of peacefulness that is lit with emotionally righteous wit
Pleasant sounds fill me up and thrill me…ascends my frown into a smile 
Going back to my roots...

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You were standing with your face held to the warm air. The sea licking your feet and your thoughts were all of her. For back at the apartment she would be lovingly cleaning your clothes...

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finding shapes in clouds
or four-leaf clovers in fields . . .
the child’s eye searches

What does it mean to view life through a child’s eyes? For me it means searching for things of wonder to revel...

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